I see a lot of the drama that is happening between people of color on the platform and the mastodon dev team.

Marco Rogers

@yisraeldov @mloxton please drop me from any further replies. Thanks.

Pete🎸🎶🐍📽🎞☮🌍🙂😭

Okay, so the first two bits of information weren't adequate for you. This is what I mean. You can keep moving the goalposts, and I'll end up pleading with you to accept me by listing the things I think will help convince you that I'm acceptable. I can't win.

My workplace have all kinds of diversity initiatives, and sensitivity training, etc, and I've been in discussion about how I don't believe in race, but I certainly know racism and racists exist...

Pete🎸🎶🐍📽🎞☮🌍🙂😭

@polotek @itsmeholland @joefox

... our literature recommend films which would help understand the viewpoint of oppressed people. I created a watchlist on letterboxd and am working my way through it.

I enjoy reading authors from different cultures and ethnicities, trying to understand the clash of identities.

I try to comprehend the Holocaust whilst also not tolerating Israel's inhumane actions. I've watched many films and documentaries about this subject.

I call out racism where I see it.

Pete🎸🎶🐍📽🎞☮🌍🙂😭

@polotek @itsmeholland @joefox

At work I volunteered to be in a working group to understand empowerment, and how the flow of power can be blocked by social conventions, traditions, habits, prejudices.

I see most empowerment that I can be responsible for to be getting out of the way, removing impediments where I can, to allow others to step up for themselves.

Pete🎸🎶🐍📽🎞☮🌍🙂😭

@polotek @itsmeholland @joefox

My pinned posts, the content of which I often post in reply to discussions, says that most suffering in the world comes from people believing that some people/groups deserve to survive, thrive and be happy, more than others.

This is the root of sexism, racism, misogyny, homophobia, nationalism, patriotism, fascism, genocide.

I feel this is a key insight that it took me many years to reach. Perhaps it's nothing, but to me I felt I'd grown.

Pete🎸🎶🐍📽🎞☮🌍🙂😭

@polotek @itsmeholland @joefox

I don't know what else to say.

But I know, with all my experience and relationships, I would never dream of telling someone they don't deserve to be heard.

The only qualifier I have is that if you or your group's survival, flourishing, or happiness, is predicated upon another person or group's destruction, decline, or unhappiness, then you, or your group, are wrong.

Erin Kissane

@polotek @blogdiva

Open Collective *Foundation* shut down very abruptly; they were the fiscal sponsor for several fedi projects and hundreds of others (for passersby, this meant that those projects could take money without incorporating as nonprofits).

Open Collective Inc is fine, they make the software/platform that provides infrastructure for project finances and are neutral about which fiscal sponsor a project uses.

(Source: My most recent project was fiscally sponsored by OCF.)

Marco Rogers

@pete see Pete. That wasn't so hard to tell me what you think you did that constitutes "working hard to understand". It was messy and you also went on some other tangents that I didn't ask about. But somehow you attempted to deliver some useful info.

Unfortunately you also doubled down on the fact that you've made up your mind about some key things and you're unlikely to budge on those. So I'm not sure exactly what it is you wanna talk to me about.

Marco Rogers

@pete you're allowed to think whatever the fuck you want about racism and white supremacy. But I don't feel obligated to debate with you about it. So tell me. Now that you've gone through so much anguish just to get a moment of my attention, what exactly is it that I can do for you?

Pete🎸🎶🐍📽🎞☮🌍🙂😭

@polotek

> what exactly is it that I can do for you?

What are the tangents I went on that you didn't ask about? I only said things I did which I considered working towards an understanding of people's experience that is different to my own. And that's what you asked for.

I'm not sure what I doubled down on. I just said what I said. I don't know what the key things are that I've said that you appear to think I need to budge on.

I want to learn. I often miss social cues, sorry #ADHD #Autism

Marco Rogers

@pete I don’t give fuck what you want Pete. I’m not a tutor. This isn’t ChatGPT. I’m not interested in continuing to explain exactly how you keep making this exchange harder on yourself. What else can I do for you?

Pete🎸🎶🐍📽🎞☮🌍🙂😭

@polotek

Sorry, Marco, you asked what you could do for me.

I know you know about sea-lions turning up in your mentions, bad faith actors, but I really didn't intend to be one.

I'm sorry I've misjudged this interaction.

Marco Rogers

@pete I think you should read The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander. It's one of the best book to truly understand that white supremacy is not just about skin color and hurt feelings. And as long as you only understand it through those simplistic lenses, Black people are gonna tell you that you're still not getting it.

Pete🎸🎶🐍📽🎞☮🌍🙂😭

@polotek

Hi Marco,

Thanks for the recommendation. I will begin reading it tonight. I appreciate your patience and generosity.

I certainly understand that white supremacy is not just about skin colour and hurt feelings, and that there are deliberate policies which reinforce inequalities, as well as seemingly well -meaning policies which have negative consequences.

I look forward to understanding more through this book.

Thanks again.

Pete

Marco Rogers

@pete You know your posts are still there right Pete?

"Ruling me out just because of my skin pigmentation and place of birth seems... I dunno... wrong?"
https://mas.to/@pete/112878095521217401

Pete🎸🎶🐍📽🎞☮🌍🙂😭

@polotek

Yes, of course I know my posts are still there. I don't understand your point.

Marco Rogers

@pete my point is that you have expressed yourself numerous times in the simplistic and pithy way that I'm describing, e.g. "skin color". Only to then try to assure me that's not how you think about it.

Pete I'm sympathetic to your suggestion that Autism makes this harder for you. But if you can't put these things together when I literally give you the post in question and clear context, I think this topic may be a bit too much for you over a medium like social media.

Marc Ochsner

@timnitGebru @polotek

Someone opened: https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/issues/31182 which could use some perspective.

If you find anything interesting about the web client, etc. where you could inject a 3rd party / custom filter, etc., pls share on the issue.

The fediverse / mastodon definitely has a lot to gain from being able to use 3rd party filtering services. Would be nice.

Freddie_Johnson

@mochsner @timnitGebru @polotek

This is core functionality for our (Newsmast's) upcoming Patchwork project, alongside other moderation features!

Freddie_Johnson

@timnitGebru @polotek @CaribenxMarciaX @are0h

This is a great thread, look forward to seeing what you and others can come up with!

We have a project, Patchwork, which will release next month and could help with moderation issues. It is built specifically to enhance safety & moderation in the Fediverse (among other issues), including features people have mentioned in this thread.

Let me know if you'd like to chat about it sometime, we'd love to collaborate!